ENGLAND'S I s^"^ 






LAST QUEEN. 



'JK pOEjVI FOR ParX.OF( and ^pFpiCE 

BY THE AUTHOR OF "STRIFE." 



NEW YORK : 

T. F. LESLIE k CO.'S TYPOGRAPHY, 

NO. 335 BROADWAY. 
1871. 



T6 ?.i a.cj 



ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 

SY MRS. E, D. ^VALLACE. 



'' 'As \WS entered tlie fesrge oiu- loquacions rower directed 
oiu- atteatgon to Her Majesty's barge, on its way to Hamp- 
:'t()n Conrt ^j-Jace. The pathetic air of the boatman as he 
related a lii^ incident, that may or may not be true, 
.iiTected my sdri^sdy Avearied spirits, and all the way dov.n 
the Thames I rev^erlzed over the picture he had di'awn of 
the poor Queer's -ec^rrow till it assumed the vividness of a 
],!rophetic vision. "3^>3Ji3 it as it is, for the sake of th^- 
sentiment." 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871, by 

Mrs. E. D. WALLACE, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



JJnqla^d'^ I^a^t Qu££|^ 



I. 

"Top of the tide, Mum ! Beautiful Avater! "' 
"None but a waterman says it, I ween." 
Half angered, half wistfully queried the boatman. 
But dreamed not he gazed in the face of the 
Queen. 

II. 

'•'A strange mood is in her," the ladies had 
whispered, 

When suddenly rising, "We may not restrain 
Such grief! " she exclaimed, but no tears 

Dimmed her eyes, as she bade them remain 

III. 

In the Audience Chamber— the Chamber of 
Horrors 

To her, when, in all the gay throng, only one 
Form she saw — and that form a shadow, 

A pale, mocking shadow of him that was gone. 



ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 



IV. 



So abruptly that morning she left them, 

tier ladies and children, and hastened away, 

Well knowing however her w^ishes were slighted, 
The royal command none would dare disobey. 



V. 



Poor wadow! great Queen! ah! the first was 
she that day. 

The humblest peasant in all her wdde realm 
Knew not such poverty, such craving hunger, 

As threatened her reason itself to o'erwhelm. 



VI, 



^'Only to see him and hear him one moment." 
That was the longing she could not repress ; 

That was the burden of all her complaining. 
These simple words told a great Queen's 
distress. 



ENGLAND'S LAST QUELN 



VII. 



"No one to call me Victoeia ; no one 

To shield from the arrows of envy and hate; 

No one for love's sake, when counsel is needed, 
To guide and uphold through the weary 
debate." 



VIII. 



"For years of devotion and service beseechiug 
But hours and moments of gracious relief 

From pageants and cares, my prayers are rejected 
With jeers for indulgence in vain, selfish 



grief!" 



IX. 



Oh, England! you boast of your strength and 
your prestige, 

In sackcloth and ashes for this sin atone ; 
For what other nation enlightened as you arc 

Makes pitiless war on one woman alone ? 



r> ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 



Tou're teacliing the Prince to despise the Queen- 
mother. 
Have a care ! for each stroke that recoils with 
a spring, 
AVhile smiting her breast, may yet mould for 
your future 
An obdurate heart in a vindictive King. 

XI. 

But hear what the people, your compeers, are 
saying — 
These people through Parliament's traitors 
have seen — 
''All hail! to the great heart that has been and 
shall be 
Eegina Victoria ; but — England's last Queen ! " 

XII. 

■' Top of.the tide, Mum ! Beautiful water ! " 
"None but a waterman says it, I ween." 

Half angered, half wistfully queried the boatman. 
But dreamed not he gazed in the face of the 
Queen. 



ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 7 

XIII. 

A barge deckecl with flags and gay ribands 
streamed by them. 
"Whose barge may that be?" she bethoiiglit 
her to say. 
"The Queen's, Mum, God bless her: ajid lono- 
may Old England 
Be ruled by the Queen who reigns o'er us 
to-day!" 

XIV. 

Sweet tears! let them flow, Oh, woman and 
widow ! 
Nor fear that the boatman will mock at your 
grief, 
Nor the tremulous joy that is stirred in your 
bosom. 
Long barred from the sympathy now your 
relief. 

XV. 

Her smile, when he called the notorious river — 

The black, murky Thames — a beautiful stream, 

He forgot, nor thought, when the barge had 

passed by them. 

To protect his bared head from the sun's 

scorchinGf beam. 



s ENOLAND'S I. A ST QUEEN 

XVI. 

He looked at the sad woman weeping before 
him, 
Looked after the royal barge gliding along, 
And whispered : "Ah, Madame, Her Majesty's 
sorrows 
Have left us no heart for the 'Waterman's 
Song.'" 

XVII. 

'•'But why is the royal barge flaunting with 

ribands. 

And why are the bargemen so gaily attired ? " 

"The Prince Consort's orders, Mum. Nobles' 

and subjects' 

Eespect for her birthdays he always required." 

XVIII. 

She entered the barge ; bade the boatman row 
swiftly 
Till evening threw round her its own dusky 
veil. 
"I may not so enter the palace," she murmured; 
The guards must not see my face tear stained 
and i^ale." 



ENQLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 



XIX. 

The sun slowl}^ sinking illumined a fountain 
Where silver and golden fish came at the call 

Of children, who shouted with glee at their haste 
To secure the sweet morsels abundant for all. 



XX. 

The sunset was regal, as round his couch 
gathered, 
Like pale, spectral mourners, the fair, fleecy 
clouds ; 
No drapery bordered with blue or with amber. 
But clothed in pure white like the dead in 
their shrouds. 

XXI. 

Yet scarce had the sun-god been veiled from 
her vision — 
The Queen's — who regarded this royal death 
scene 
As a t3^pe, it may be, of the hour approaching 
When she too must die, though a mother and 
Queen. 



10 ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 



The last look scarce given, when lo ! all these 
watchers 
In purple and crimson and gold were arrayed. 
" He leaves them the riches the}^ prize, though 
reflecting 
No gior}^ on him o'er whose wealth they have 
pre^-ed." 

XXIII. ^ 

So murmured the Queen ; and the children 
laughed gaily. 
For over the fountain that last golden beam 
Threw a light that revealed the fish still in 
commotion 
To secure the last crumb falling into the ream. 

XXIV. 

"The children are happy, nor dream that I 

grudge them 

That one golden ray to stream over the walls 

Of the palace w^hich Time — no res^DCcter of 

persons — 

Preserves not from tempest or rain as it falls. 



ENOLAND'S LAST QUEEN. 11 



"The masonry crumbled, the sculpture disfigured, 
No gilding — not even the sun's could adorn — 

But through the stained windows one gleam 
could restore me 
The pride of my palace the day I was born." 

XXVI. 

Now evening closed round her, and giving tlie 
bargeman 
A fee for his service, she hurried away 
Towards the palace where torches were flaring 
and streaming 
In search of the Queen "who was missing 
that day." 

XXVII. 

"And who may she be?" said the boatman, and 
peered 
Through the dark till no longer her form 
could be seen. 
A voice, like the wail of a spirit in sorrow, 
Sobbed low : " 'Tis Victoria, England's Last 
Queen." 



STRIFE 

^ lAomanre of (Sfrmann anli Stalri. 
By Mrs. E. D. WALLACE. 



The press being unanimous in favor of this Roiuance (compared 
in many instances with Hawthorne^s ''Marble Fawn," "Scarlet 
Letter," " Blithedale Romance," with "The Initials," and witli 
Victor Hugo and Madame de Stael), we can give comparatively 
few of the many laudatory notices received from all parts of the 
country. 

GLAXTON, REMSEN & HAFFELFINGER, 

819 & 821 Market Street, 

PHILADELPHIA. 



The most completelj'-original creation we have lately met with 
in American literature. A highly-intereeting Eomance which 
will be especially enjoyed by people of intellectual culture.— i-'/(<7- 
adel2)hia Evening Bulletin. 

" Strife " is a Romance that will find and interest many read- 
ers. It has striking points of merit and will rank with the higher 
order of fiction. In behalf of the deserving lady who has thus 
i^reatly enhanced her previous literary reputation, and in the 
hope to promote a diffusion of a better taste among American 
readers, we bespeak for this volume a generous and widely-ex- 
tended reception.— ,SY. Louis Times. 

A creation of unusually-delicate and poetic talent— one of the 
1)00ks that make us wonder what the temperament, what the his- 
tory of the author may be. For all who love the lands in which 



the scenes of her story are cast this story will have a double inter- 
est, while few readers can fail to perceive the undertone of tender 
tho'ught that runs through this very genuinely-written book.— 
The Independent [N. Y.]. 

Mrs. Wallace wields a peculiarly-graceful and facile pen, and 
has given us in this volume a most charming story. Her descrip- 
tion of scenes in Italy are especially happy, the pages seeming lit- 
erally to partake of the glowing hues of the landscapes they de- 
scribe, while her characters move with all the animation of real- 
ities. There is no overstrained effort at effect, but the reader is 
insensibly led to feel the subdued power which pervades the story, 
and which at once secuies his attention and carries his interest to 
the end. The book deserves a wide circulation which we doubt 
not its merits will secure, and trust that its success may induce 
the authoress to continue her efiuxli^.—Athol Transcript [Mass.]. 

We augur that " Strifk " will be relished as one of the most at- 
tractive literary contributions to our summer enjoyment. It will 
stand oitt apart from the multitude of romances, claiming favor in 
not only its freedom from sensationalism, bitt, in its freshness and 
originality of conception, the picturesqueness of its delineations, 
and the artistic dexterity of its structure. Germany and Italy 
make the atmosphere through which the story moves, and we 
pass through Dresden, Rome, Naples, Capri, and Sorrento.— 
Charleston Ccmroe7\ 

As a whole, then, " Strife " will strongly cement those various 
reputations as journalist, correspondent,''novelist, and dramatisr, 
which Mrs. Wallace has acquired by profound and patient labor 
through a series of unremitting years. It will bind them together 
into an exceedingly durable and dignified entirety and place her 
upon a level with the foreniost American female fiction writers 
of the Aay .—Kew -York Standard. 

The book is full of interest and has considerable dramatic effect, 
and we anticipate for it a rapid and large sale. The popularity of 
the authoress will also add much to enhance its value and assure 
its sttccess. — Oxir Society. 

The interest never flags, and the story is altogether well worked 
up to a grand climax. The style is fresh, and the English is mas- 
terly and more sinewy than is at the command of most female au- 
thors. Mrs. Wallace has made a hit in this story, and the work 
will give her a high place among the story-writers of this country. 
— Missouri liejniblican. 

Of absorbing interest. The plot is deep and graphically worked 
out. — Missouri Deviocrat. 

In this age of machinery and fact how welcome to the soul is a 
new and good book ! From this experience we have just emerL'ed 
in turning the last leaf of this singularly-interesting work. The 
authoress seems to have read the numan heart all through with 
the same divination that she accords to her heroine.— »SY. Louis 
Dispatch. 

It is a gentle, clever, womanly story, in which effects naturally 
flow from causes, and character is clearly and artistically delineat- 
ed. The story is an autobiographical relation, and the heroine— 
who is supposed to relate it — is an entirely original creation, — 
Philaclelphia Press. 

A very readable novel, Avhich shows an excellent acquaintance 
with life in Germany and Italy.— New -YarJc World. 



1 ins interegtm? novel dispLays marked ability on the part of the 
anthoresp, who describes with nnusual skill and animation the 
scenes of German and Italian life. The style is correct and ea^^y 
the plot IS worked out with a proper re!,'ard to the respective situ- 
ations of the characters, and the story "will engage the undivided 
attention of the reader. ~Philadel2JMa Ledger. 

A v/ell-told and interesting ^tory.—Neio-York Observer . 

Written in an animated style, and likely to prove a popular one 
— yeio - York Evening Post. 

Throughout the whole work the authoress has enriched her 
pages with true poetic and beautiful reflections.— .HtoitoitJit 
Chronicle. 

It cannot fail to become popular. It is well worth readin"- — 
Baltimore Sun Bulletin. ^ 

All these characters are very strongly marked. The most promi- 
nent and interesting one is Minnette. She is a type of a class of 
women that one meets with here and there in real liie ; and when- 
ever met with, whether in real life or in the pages of a novel, they 
never fail to attract the notice of the thoughtful student of human 
nature —Yonke7's Statesman. 

She is a fine, engaging writer, and being familiar with European 
customs and manners, has woven into her Komance so many con- 
current incidents of the ways and usages of society, as to present 
us with a work of very decided interest and attraction, Mithout 
any of the meritricious belongings which so constantlv disfigure 
and destroy most modern productions of the kind. We predict a 
steady run for " STmFE.''—Germantcicn TelegrG2)h. 

The plot is well managed and interesting ; the incidents are 
judiciously brought forward ; and the storv, in all particulars, 
evidences the possession of fine literary ability on the part of the 
a-dlhore^i^.— Philadelphia Svnday Dispatch. 

The value of tlie book will be permanent. It is one of those 
stones that we read first for its machinerv and plot, and reperuse 
again and again, as we do the ''Initials/' the "Scarlet Letter," 
or the "Marble Fawn," to enioy the excellence cf its srvle and 
tlie individuality of its working w^ .—Philadelp?da Sunday Mercury. 

The plot is conducted with much skill, and the peculiar dencve- 
menf is quite an artistic masterpiece.— Philadelphia Evening Tele- 
graph. 

The merits of this volume are its freshness, womanly vivacit}-, 
and correct moral and religious tone.— Moldavian. 

The work is very ingenious and highly original in its concep- 
tion. For the excellent tone pervading it Mrs. Wallace deserves 
the approbation of every lover of moraWXy. —PMladeljMa Age. 

The story is in itself interesting and as original as it is possi- 
ble to be. The volume is fresh, suggestive, and forcible.— ^?;esco- 
paltan. 

The story is told with great animation, and the lesson convej^ed 
distinctly and earnestly set forth in the conclusion of the volume. 
— Presbyterian. 

Her characters are of flesh and blood, as well as of intellect and 
sensibility, and the interest of her book is not the less human and 
alive_ for being in some sense spiritual. She writes excellent 
English, with a strong faith in the Anglo-Saxon articulations of 



tlie languaire, and with a perfect kno\v]ecl<?e when and where to 
draw upon the more majestic and imposing Latin influences. Her 
voiuiae, therefore, is a novel of culture and finish, and may be 
read more than once with pleasure and profit. — Xetv-York Sunday 
Times. 

It weaves into the story sketches of travel in the south of 
Europe that are both vivid and \>QsmWh\\.— Episcopal Register. 

It is written in a flowing, eloquent style ; and there are many 
passages we would extract as evidences of the quality and interes'c 
of the story. It will meet with a wide 's^vde.— Keystone [Phila.]. 

Every page is an exquisite pen-Dicture, and every paragraph a 
?:\\\(Xy .—PJiUadelphia Commercial List. 



In addition to these notices of Strife, favorable announce- 
ments and notices have appeared in weekly journals, monthly 
magazines, and quarterly reviews, all over the country, which we 
have no space to copj'. 



The book is bound in liandsome cloth. Price, $1 75. 



%W^ If your bookseller has not a copy of Steife ask him to 
order one from the news companies or the publishers. 



IN PREPyVI^ATION ! 
By D. APPLETON & 00.^ 

Bty 3I3-S. JB. 13. -W AJI^TuJ^GE., 
A-UTHOE OF "STSIFE," "ENGLAND'S LAST QUEEN," ETC. 



